Disposable injector and holder therefor



Oct. 20, 1970 R, soN 3,535,068

DISPOSABLE INJEGTQR. AND HOLDER THEREFOR Filed July 29, 1968 fnt/entorx Roger R. Larson ga WW United States Patent O 3,535,068 DISPOSABLE INJECTOR AND HOLDER THEREFOR Roger R. Larson, Decatur, Ill., assignor to Lincoln Laboratories, Inc., Decatur, 111., a corporation of Indiana Filed July 29, 1968, Ser. No. 748,258 Int. Cl. A6lm /22 U.S. Cl. 128-218 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A needle-type injector to be held steadily and to be manipulated by one hand is provided by the combination of an elongated tubular needle having a sharpened tip at one end and mounted on an elongated handle of a length and shape to be conveniently held in the palm of the hand, and with a liquid-enclosing container. The container is slidably carried on the handle and movable substantially parallel relative to the handle axis to effect pressurizing the liquid for injection through the needle. The tubular needle has a piston means fixedly mounted only on the other end of the needle, for cooperation with the liquid-enclosing container to effect the injection. The handle has an axial extent at least as great as that of the container so as to support the container as it is slid toward and away from the tip.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a single-use, needle-type injector and more particularly relates to a combination injector and manipulative handle therefor by means of which a technician obtains greater one-hand control in the insertion of the needle and in the injection of liquid through the needle.

Hypodermic, or needle-type, injectors have been known for many years. Single-use, or throw-away needle-type injectors have become very popular because of their assurance as to sterility and avoidance of transmission of infections, such as infectious hepatitis. Such single-use injectors may be a discardable plastic syringe and plunger with steel needle that is required to be loaded before use, or may include a pre-loaded plastic cartridge arranged for single use with a sterile steel needle, both of which are discarded after use. When using the pre-loaded cartridge, the cartridge is provided with a resilient-edged plunger in the cylinder, and a re-usable holder with attached plunger rod and head is used to assemble the cartridge and needle in juxtaposition onto the holder after which the head and plunger rod is manipulated like a hypodermic injector. The re-usable holder may be used repeatedly since it neither contacts the liquid or the patient being injected.

In all such prior contructions, whether it be a resterilizable hypodermic, or a wholly discardable plastic syringe and plunger with steel needle, or a discardable plastic cartridge and steel needle that are adapted to be assembled with a reusable holder and plunger, the existence of an extensible plunger for cooperative use with a barrellike chamber means for holding the liquid to be injected poses disadvantages and problems. In the use ofeach such device, the technician, such as doctor or nurse, first holds the elongated syringe or barrel-like part with needle assembled thereon like a dart and first seeks to introduce the needle where desired, such as in a vein. Then the technician must either use one hand to hold the barrel and the other hand operates the plunger that extends rearwardly of the barrel, or if the technician attempts one-hand manipulation, his hand is caused to crawl back to the end of the barrel where the plunger may be engaged by the thumb for manipulation. In such one-hand operation, the loca- "ice tion of the hand on the plunger at any substantial distance remote from the needle point makes manipulation of the injector awkward and difficult. An additional disadvantage exists where the plunger is to be first manipulated rearwardly in a suction stroke to load the barrel with liquid because thereafter the plunger must be maintained stationary while removing the needle from the partly-evacuated vial carrying the supply of liquid.

Thus, one object of this invention is to provide a single-use, needle-like injector and handle combination so constructed as to provide greater control to the technician in inserting the needle where desired and in thereafter effecting injection of liquid through the needle.

Another object of this invention is to provide an injector which avoids the problems as noted hereinabove and which is characterized by simplicity and inexpensiveness of construction, and by effectiveness of use.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds and the features of novelty which characterize this invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexted to and forming part of this specification.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a top plan view of my invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on line 22 of FIG. 1 and showing the location of parts with the cylinder filled with liquid prior to an injection;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing the location of parts when the cylinder is empty, such as either after an injection or prior to manipulation of the cylinder before filling;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a crosssectional view taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings, the injector device I there shown is intended to be held in the palm of one hand by a technician, such as a doctor or nurse, and is adapted for one-hand operation by the technician. The injector device itself includes an elongated tubular means generally indicated at 10 and sharpened at one end 12 and having a piston 14 mounted on the other end of said tubular means. The piston 14- is formed either wholly of resilient material, such as rubber or equivalent synthetic material, or has a resilient rubber periphery. The piston 14 is shaped to provide a plurality of spaced peripheral ribs 16 bounding a plurality of spaced annular recesses 18. The other end of tubular means 10, upon which is positioned the piston 14, is closed off either by the presence of the piston 14 or in the process of forming the tubular means 10. To one side of piston 14 in the direction of the sharpened rib 12 there is provided a lateral aperture, or bore, 20 through the side wall of the tubular means 10 and in communication with the bore of said tubular means.

Intermediate the ends of tubular means 10 is an enlargement 22 in the form of a ferrule having spaced sections thereof which define a forward shoulder 26 and a rearward shoulder 28. The enlargement 22 divides tubular means 10 into a forward section 10a and a rearward section 10b. The shape of said shoulders on ferrule 22 may be either cylindrical or rectangular, but the intermediate portion 29 of ferrule 22 between shoulders 26 and 28 is cylindrical.

The injector device I includes a handle means generally indicated at 30 in the form of an elongated body having an elongated bottom wall 32, an abutment, or end wall, 34 at one of the body, and with an elongated groove or slideway 36 to one side of end wall 34 and above bottom wall 32 and bounded by spaced elongated sides 38. The end wall 34 is of a thickness to just fit between spaced shoulders 26 and 28 on ferrule 22 so that when assembled the tubular means is restrained against axial movement relative to handle 30.

For cooperation with the tube portion 1012 which extends into slideway 36, there is provided a cylinder means generally indicated at 40 defined by a generally cylindrical wall 42 and a transverse end wall 44 whose outer periphery may be convex as best seen in FIGS. 1-3. The transverse end wall 44 is at the end of cylinder means 40 closest to end wall 34 of the handle. End wall 44 has a central bore 46 therethrough for slidably accommodating tube portion 10b. Resilient sealing means 48 are provided within cylinder 40 and adjacent transverse end Wall 44 and in sealing engagement with the periphery of tube portion 10b. Formed integrally on the forward end of cylinder 40, substantially at the juncture between transverse end wall 44 and cylindrical wall 42, is a control means in the form of an upright flange 50. The liquid to be injected is indicated at 52 and is confined in cylider 40 by the piston 14. The volume of liquid in cylinder 40 may be indicated on the upper exposed portion of cylindrical wall 42 by graduated markings 54, as seen in FIG. 1.

The length of the elongated body of handle means 30 is such that at all positions of the cylinder means 40, between the cylinder-filled position of FIG. 2 and the cylinderempty position of FIG. 3, said cylinder means 40' lies within the laterally projected confines of the handle means 30. The handle means 30 are of a selected length and dimension substantially in the proportions shown in the drawings, with the length of handle 30 being between 3 to 4 inches, so that it conveniently fits in the palm of the hand of the technician Who is effecting the injection. The upstanding control flange 50 is conveniently positioned to be manipulated by the thumb of the technicians hand, from the position of FIG. 2 to the position of FIG. 3 so as to effect the injection without shifting the hand.

The upper edge of abutment 34 is shaped in the form of a cylindrical saddle 34a so as to receive and seat the cylindrical portion 29 of ferrule 22. The elongated slideway 36 is also shaped to provide a cylindrical saddle 36a for slidably receiving and seating the cylindrical periphery of cylindrical wall 42. The peripheral length of the two saddles 34a and 36a is just slightly greater than 180 so as to provide that both the portion 29 of ferrule 22 and the cylindrical wall 42 must be pressured slightly to snapfit past the uppermost portions of the handle to be lodged in their respective saddles. This arrangement Operates to effectively retain both the ferrule 22 and the cylinder means 40 in position without tendency of either to be inadvertently dislodged from the handle 30. The uppermost extent of both the abutment end wall 34 and the elongated sides 38 of handle 30 terminate substantially in the same plane son that is located above the longitudinal axis of tubular means 10 and cylinder means 40, as may be best seen in FIGS. 4 and 5. In order to provide for convenient and comfortable holding of handle 30 in the palm of the hand, the upper longitudinal corners of the handle means 30 are beveled at 30b, and the lower longitudinal corners are rounded at 30c.

The use of the device will readily understood from the foregoing description of the structure. Thus, with tubular means 10 and cylinder emans 40 assembled on handle 30 as in FIGS. 1 and 2, the technician grasps handle means 30 comfortable and securely in the palm of the hand and is thereby able to manipulate the sharpened needle end 12 to effect a proper piercing of the body to lodge the needle in a vein or other body portion, as desired. The handle 30 and its relation to needle portion 10a brings the technicians hand quite close to the body region being pierced and this results in more accurate manipulation. Once the needle 10 is properly lodged where desired, the

technician need do no further shifting of his hand but by manipulating control flange 50 backward with his thumb, the cylinder 40 is caused to slide rearwardly in slideway 36 toward the position in FIG. 3. This pressurizes the liquid 52 which moves through lateral aperture and then through tube 10 during the injection process.

The technician may control the amount of liquid being injected by observing the graduated markings 54 on the cylinder means 40. When an injection is completed, the tubular means 10 and cylinder means 40 are removed from the handle by manual transverse pressure in a direction outwardly of the saddles, and the used needle and cylinder should be discarded. The handle may be later reused with another assemblage of needle and cylinder of the type shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

While it is comtemplated that the needle and cylinder would be packaged in a sterile condition with liquid 52 in cylinder 40, it will be seen that the needle and cylinder could be packaged steriley without the liquid. Filling of cylinder may be effected by moving the cylinder 40 from its discharge position relative to needle portion 10b as seen in FIG. 3 to the filled position seen in FIG. 2 while the open tip 12 of needle portion 10a is immersed in a supply of liquid to be injected. The suction in cylinder 40 created by movement of sealing piston 14 to the filled position will draw liquid through tubular means 10 so as to load the cylinder 40.

While there has been shown and described a particular embodiment of this invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention and, therefore, it is intended in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. An injector device for operation by one hand comprising, in combination, elongated tubular means defining at one end a sharpened injection tip, handle means engaging the tubular means at a point spaced from said sharpened injection tip, said handle means aiding in stabilizing the tubular means and aiding in the manipulation of the injection tip, and cylinder means for containing liquid material to be injected and operatively associated with the other end of the tubular means and axially slidably mounted on said handle means, said cylinder means being arranged for axial movement relative to the tubular means to effect injection of the liquid through said tubular means said handle means extending substantially parallel to said tubular means and having an axial extent at least as great as the length of the cylinder means and sufiicient to engage and support the cylinder means in all positions as the cylinder means is slid axially in directions toward and away from the injection tip, the elongated tubular means having piston means fixedly mounted only thereon adjacent the other end of the tubular means and arranged for entry in and cooperation with the cylinder means.

2. A device as in claim 1 including at least two pair of cooperating elements on the tubular means, handle means and cylinder means, and spaced axially of the tubular means for maintaining alignment of the cylinder means during axial movement of the cylinder means.

3. A device as in claim 2 wherein one pair of said cooperating elements includes a piston carried on said tubular means and slidably fitted in the cylinder means to provide alignment between the tubular means and cylinder means, and another pair of said cooperating elements includes the handle means having formed thereon a saddle means with cylindrical support surface whose axis is coaxial with the axis of the tubular means and is adapted to engage the exterior of one element of the tubular means and cylinder means.

4. A device as in claim 1 including said tubular means having an enlargement thereon spaced between said piston means and sharpened tip for engagement with said handle means so as to prevent axial movement between said tubular means and said handle means.

5. A device as in claim 1 wherein the handle means is elongated and is of a length and shape to be easily held in the palm of the hand, said handle having thereon abutment means for engagement with the tubular means to prevent axial movement between the tubular means and handle means, said handle also having thereon a slide- Way which the cylinder means engages and along which the cylinder means may slide axially relative to the tubular means.

6. A device as in claim 1 wherein the cylinder means includes an annular transverse wall through which a portion of the tubular means slidably extends, seal means operatively associated with said transverse wall to prevent leakage of liquid, and a manually engageable control means carried on and movable with the cylinder means.

7. A device as in claim 4 wherein the other end of the tubular means is closed by said piston means and a flow opening is provided in the side wall of the tubular means adjacent the piston means to the side thereof in the direction toward the sharpened tip.

8. A device as in claim 5 wherein the portions thereof which engage the tubular means and cylinder means are shaped to define co-axial press-through retainers which provide for a releasable snap-fit assemblage of both the tubular means and cylinder means onto the handle means.

9. A device as in claim 5 wherein the cylinder means is arranged to move in an axial direction away from said abutment means on the handle to effect flow of liquid through the tubular means in the direction desired to effect an injection.

10. An injector device for one-hand operation comprising, in combination, an elongated hollow injection needle having a sharpened tip at one end and grippable means thereon spaced from said sharpened tip, elongated handle means having thereon an abutment means for releasably engaging the grippable means on the injection needle to prevent axial movement of the needle relative to the handle, piston-and-cylinder means operatively associated with the injection needle and arranged on the handle means to be located within the confines of the handle means when viewed in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the injeciton needle, the cylinder portion of said piston-and-cylinder means being axially movably mounted relative to said injection needle and within said confines of the handle means for effecting selective controlled ejection of liquid under pressure through said injection needle, and control means operatively associated with cylinder of the piston-and-cylinder means for effecting selective movement of the cylinder to pressurize the liquid being ejected.

11. A device as in claim 10 wherein the handle means defines an elongated slideway, the hollow needle having an elongated tubular extension that projects from the abutment means that engages said grippable means in parallel spaced relation to said elongated slideway, and the piston of the piston-and-cylinder means having a resilient periphery and being mounted on said tubular extension distally of the grippable means.

12. A device as in claim 11 wherein the cylinder part of the piston-and-cylinder means is arranged surrounding the piston means and slideably disposed in the handles slideway, and wherein the control means is a finger-engageable abutment member carried on the cylinder and spaced from the handles slideway.

13. A device as in claim 10 wherein the handle means is of a length and shape to be held in the palm of the hand, said handle providing thereon an elongated slideway having holding means operatively associated therewith for releasably receiving into the slideway and retaining therein, and for selective operative movement along the slideway, the cylinder of the piston-and-cylinder means.

14. A device as in claim 13 wherein said abutment means and holding means for releasably engaging the grippable means on the injection needle and for releasably retaining the cylinder of the piston-and-cylinder means includes the handle being formed of a material that is slightly resilient and being shaped to provide coaxial arcuate saddle portions of arcuate extent slightly greater than 180 degrees to receive thereinto, by a snapfit, complementary cylindrical elements constituting said grippable means and said cylinder.

15. A device as in claim 13 wherein the handle means has a length to support the cylinder along its entire length as the cylinder is moved between positions during the efiecting of an injection.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,523,068 1/1925 Hein l28-218 2,562,129 7/1951 Scherer et a1 l28-272 X 2,880,725 4/1959 Kendall. 3,076,455 2/1963 McConnaughey et al. l28-128.1

FOREIGN PATENTS 742,024 9/ 1966 Canada.

SAMUEL KOREN, Primary Examiner I. H. CZERWONKY, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 128220; 222327 

